Carmen Best has joined Microsoft as director of global security risk operations.
Best served as Seattle Police chief from August 2018 to September 2020, and spent more than two decades in various roles with the Seattle Police Department, including as deputy chief and assistant chief with the Investigations Bureau. She departed following police funding cuts and the police reform protests.
At Microsoft, Best will be “responsible for global virtual security operations team, intelligence, executive threat intel, special asset security, event security, travel security, security risk operations, security program management office (PMO),” according to her LinkedIn.
“I’ve always admired Microsoft’s commitment to supporting and empowering diverse communities,” Best wrote in a LinkedIn post. “With new challenges and opportunities ahead, I’m ready to build on my experiences and join a team whose values of helping others, inclusion of all, and engaging the community align with my own.”
Microsoft’s Global Security arm “protects the people and assets of Microsoft.” We’ve reached out to Best to learn more about her new gig and we’ll update this post when we hear back.
Best, 57, was a reportedly a finalist last year to become police chief with the New York Police Department. She was the first Black woman to lead the SPD.
Best was most recently a global account director with Securitas Security Services, where she joined after retiring from SPD.
Last year, Best joined the AI ethics board at Axon, a company that develops law enforcement technology such as body cameras. Best is also a contributor at MSNBC and a law enforcement analyst for KING5. And in October she published a book, “Black in Blue: Lessons on Leadership, Breaking Barriers, and Racial Reconciliation.”